


At First Sight

by hippolarium



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Cat Puns, Crime Fighting, F/M, I guess this could also count as, LadyNoir - Freeform, Magic, Medieval France!AU, Oneshot, Vigilantism, a poorly timed cat pun, also ladybug kicks ass, but like one cat pun, chat tries to be suave but ends up being a dork, i mean theres
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-07 17:19:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16858126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hippolarium/pseuds/hippolarium
Summary: A (loosely based) Medieval France!AU where Chat Noir first meets Ladybug. Lots of fighting, lots of (one-sided) shameless flirting, and a little bit of magic.





	At First Sight

**Author's Note:**

> So I've had this little scene/au thing in my head for a while, and today is the day I finally had the balls to write it out. Also, I suck at writing fight scenes so I thought this might be good practice. Basically, Ladybug and Chat Noir are both magic-users who have been practising since they were chosen at 14, but have never formally met until now. Ladybug has become a vigilante in Paris, defending her fellow commoners from mean knights who want to burn up commoner property for some reason (probably for power), and Chat Noir has been protecting his duchy until he was summoned to the palace. He had a tip-off that there was a vigilante in red protecting Paris, and followed his instincts one night. I picture them to be about 20 years old.
> 
> As always, constructive criticism is welcome :)) Especially for the fight scenes :)))

Chat Noir pulled his hood over his head as he leapt silently from rooftop to rooftop. He was counting on the commoners being asleep at this time, but he couldn’t take any risks being recognised if he was caught. If the farmers he had visited this morning were right, he could expect another purge soon. Somewhere close, according to his instincts. And if the farmers were right, _she_ would be there.

He crawled into a shadowy corner behind a chimney and waited, listening carefully for any sign of trouble. He could feel his ears-- his cat ears-- squish uncomfortably under his hood as they emerged, so he pulled it down. Immediately, a wave of various sounds rushed to him. Long ago, it would’ve overwhelmed him, but he had learnt how to dull the white noise and hone in on what he was looking for.

Then he heard it. The telltale galloping of hooves and whinnies of horses. He followed the sound across the rooftops and soon registered the clinking of metal and the groans of men. There was something else, too. The smell of burning.

He was running on all fours now, desperate to get the site. The sickening feeling of impending doom was beginning to emerge in his stomach, and he picked up speed. He eventually came to the edge of the town where he saw a small cottage, the grass around the front alight. In front of the flames, there were at least ten hooded men fighting a single figure in a deep red cloak.

He saw one of the men break away from the crowd, just as a child stumbled out of the door, wide-eyed. Chat Noir saw the glint of metal in the man’s hand, and his instincts took over.

Many things came to him in the few seconds after he leapt off the roof. The grunt of effort of the man as he released the knife. The scream of some woman nearby. The bright blue eyes of the figure in red as his shadow passed over the fray. The trickle of magic through his fingers as he summoned the tiniest amount of his power.

He landed with a thud before the child, catching the knife moments before it impaled his chest. The metal immediately dissolved as soon as he touched it, leaving only the hilt. He looked up and snarled at the hooded figure.

“Get inside, kid! And don’t come out until I say so!”

He didn’t check to see if the child had obeyed, summoning more magic than before and slamming his hand against the ground next to him. A trail of black ran down the grass as it dissolved into nothing, the flames following suit as its fuel disappeared. He felt his mind grow foggy as his power left his fingers, but he hardly had any time to spare to get a grip. Turning his attention back towards the figure which the knife belonged to, he bared his teeth and snarled as he launched himself back into the action. Chat Noir threw the remaining hilt of the knife back at him, hitting his head and stunned him, giving Chat Noir the perfect opportunity to strike and leave him unconscious. He barely had the chance to breathe before he heard footsteps behind him and had to duck, a sword slicing through the air his head had been. He pulled out the baton on his back and extended it before him, catching more knives and swords from four more attackers who had charged at him. His nerves were alight with the familiar thrill of adrenaline and movement, easily dodging attacks, parrying strikes and landing a hit when he saw an opening. It was easy to get caught up in the intensity of it all, increasingly becoming a slave to his instincts as he pressed forward more aggressively, more viciously, more ruthlessly.

His back hit something and he turned around, teeth bared at his attacker. Instead, he found the red hooded figure, staring back at him in surprise. Almost immediately, the fogginess in his mind dissipated, and he felt his humanity returning in clear focus. They stared at each other for a moment longer, unsure of what to think of the other, before she ducked suddenly, one of her attackers nearly shaving a chunk of his nose off.

“Who are you?” she said, as they both turned their attention back to their enemies.

“Chat Noir,” he answered, breaking away from her and kicking a hooded figure off of him. She immediately caught the man, and in a single fluid movement, disarmed him with her knife, used his cloak to stun him, and subdued him. She looked up at him for a moment in shock before her eyes narrowed at something beside him, flashing red momentarily. There was a shriek of surprise from his left as Chat subdued the figure he was dealing with, and he saw another one of his opponents, stumbling around like he was blind. He acted quickly, knocking the sword out of his hand with his baton and kicking him towards the incoming men running towards him.

“Thanks, uh…”

“Ladybug,” she said.

Chat Noir pushed the last few of his enemies off of him, quickly knocking them off their feet and leaving them unconscious. He looked at her properly the moment he wasn’t immediately in danger. “Ladybug? As in _The Ladybug,_ my equal and opposite?”

Ladybug quickly finished off the attackers she was dealing with before facing him. Her mouth and nose were covered with a black mask, and her red hood-- which, he realised, was covered in black spots-- had fallen off during battle. She had bangs across her forehead, and her dark hair was braided down her back and tied off with a red ribbon. The rest of her clothing was black, except for a deep red belt at her waist with provisions for her knives and her crossbow. He was struck by the intensity of her blue eyes, staring back at him in shock and curiosity.

“So you really are him.”

“Of course I am,” he said, walking towards her. “Tell me, Ladybug. Have I been running through your dreams as much as you have in mine?” He reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. But before he could kiss her knuckles, her hand slipped out of his grasp and pushed him back.

“A bit of a flirt, are we?” she teased.

Fueled by the mirth in her eyes, he found the audacity to wink. “Only for you, My Lady.”

She scoffed, still looking amused. “You’re really laying it on think, Kitty.”

He was taken aback by the nickname. “I’m not a kitten!” he replied indignantly. “I’m Chat Noir! Harbinger of Misfortune! Bearer of Destruction-”

Ladybug reached behind his ears and started scratching, and he was immediately a slave to his instincts, his knees turning to jelly, his head pushing against her fingers. A deep rumbling sound emanated from his chest and they both froze. “Are you purring, Chat Noir?”

Chat Noir quickly pushed her fingers out of his hair. “No! I was... “ She raised an eyebrow at him and he sighed in defeat. “Fine. Maybe I was,” he said. Then after a moment, he added thoughtfully, “I didn’t know I could do that.”

Ladybug giggled, a soft sound that made his heart flutter, and committed the sound to memory. He watched her for a moment, captivated by the small rumbling in her shoulders as she giggled, the slightest flush on the skin that was exposed from the effort of the battle. Every other thought left his mind in that moment, except for the simple acknowledgement that she was beautiful.

She stopped giggling, and it struck Adrien that he just said that aloud.

“Wait, I-I didn’t mean to-”

Suddenly, her eyes narrowed at something behind him and she took off. “Tell me later, Kitty!” she said, racing past him. He turned around and saw a hooded figure hastily mounting a horse and kicking it into a gallop down a wide path bordered by trees. Something metal glinted in the moonlight as he tucked it behind his cloak.

Chat Noir immediately fell into step with her as she pulled out her crossbow. “He took my knife. We can’t let him bring it back to his master, they’ll be able to track me with it,” she said.

“So what do we do?”

Ladybug glanced at him and grinned confidently. “Just follow my lead.”

She fired a grappling hook into a nearby tree ahead, and swung towards the man. The hooded figure must’ve sensed her coming because he halted immediately. Ladybug flew through the air just in front of his horse and tucked into a ball as she landed. She immediately sprang into a crouch and pulled the rope free, expertly swinging it around her as she attacked the man. This one seemed to be more skilled than his accomplices, because he easily warded off her every strike with a long sword whilst remaining mounted.

Using his baton, Chat Noir propelled himself into a tree and began leaping through the air. He closed in quickly on the man, jumping towards him once he was close enough, but the man seemed to have extraordinary reflexes. At the last moment, he turned his attention away from Ladybug and swiped in the direction Chat was coming from. It happened so quickly that not even Chat’s incredible instincts could predict it, or react in time.

“Chat Noir!”

He felt her rope wrap around the length of his arm just as the sword grazed his armour, and suddenly he was being pulled over the hooded figure. He quickly corrected his position and landed in a crouch next to Ladybug as she released his arm. When he glanced at his torso, he found a small scratch stretching diagonally over his stomach. As much as he hated the extra weight his armour gave him when all we wanted was mobility, he made a mental note to thank Kagami somehow for insisting he wear it.

“He’s too fast,” he told Ladybug as she fell back yet again. “We need to even out the playing field.”

The man struck out again with his sword towards Ladybug, and Chat immediately leapt in front of her and caught it with his baton, extending it as far as it could go and forcing his opponent back. He glanced behind him. Her eyes were glowing bright red with her magic as her gaze scoured the landscape, widening in realisation when they landed at something close by. “Chat, you’re a genius! Cover me,” she said, running towards a tree.

He felt his senses pick up and he looked up just in time to see a big rock flying towards her. Chat immediately reduced his baton and batted it out of the way, but in doing so, also removed the one thing that maintained a safe distance between them. He heard the fast galloping of the horse quickly closing in before his baton had made contact with the rock, jumping back moments before the sword could reach him again. The man was advancing with more ferocity now that his full attention was on Chat, and Chat constantly found himself more and more on the defence.

“What’s your plan, Ladybug?” he called out.

“Just like you said, Kitty. We’re evening out the playing field. Think you can disarm him?”

Chat Noir didn’t quite understand what she meant, but he knew he’d have to trust her. He got the feeling that this was the way things were going to be from now on.

The hooded figure kept pressing on, striking and swinging relentlessly, leaving no opening for Chat. He tried extending his baton again to create some distance, but the figure was ready for him this time, dodging his weapon and grabbing onto it, pulling against it and sending Chat flying across the path. His back hit a tree trunk hard and the air was knocked out of his lungs. He was sure that that was going to bruise later.

Meanwhile, the man was advancing slowly, turning his sword in his hand. Just out of his reach, his baton lay at rest on the ground. Ladybug was still out of sight, busy doing whatever she was doing. He was defeated. And most likely, soon to be exposed and killed. Only luck could save him now.

Something pulled at his mind at the thought. He was unlucky enough to lose his weapon, but he was not completely defenceless.

He watched the hooded figure carefully, searching for something he could use. His eyes landed on his hand, casually turning his sword over. It was a showy move, probably meant to intimidate him more than anything else. A move that took skill and practice to master. It would be extremely _unfortunate_ for him to mess up now.

Chat Noir summoned his magic yet again, but directed it at the man’s hand as he tossed his sword between both hands. The sword landed somewhere he didn’t expect because at the next moment, he was fumbling to catch it before the blade accidentally struck something. Chat Noir took advantage of the moment of distraction and in a fluid movement, reached for his baton, extended it as he sprang to his feet, and knocked the sword out of his hand. As he was extending his baton, Ladybug reappeared in the distance, tossing her rope in the air and easily tying the man up. The sword clattered loudly as it hit the ground, and the horse reared and whinnied, galloping away in fright. The man was jerked backwards out of the saddle, landing on the ground with a thud, unconscious. Then Ladybug pulled the rope back, pulling the man with it as the rope unravelled around him. Chat Noir noticed she had changed the hook at the end of the rope; it was much smaller and sharper, and it had caught onto the man’s belt. He saw the glint of another blade as she snatched her knife out of the air, wrapping the rope around her arm as she caught it. She pulled the belt off the hook and tossed it aside.

“Gotcha.”

For a moment, Chat Noir could do nothing else but stare at her in shock and awe. She had moved with such grace and beauty, and confidence. If he wasn’t head over heels for her before, watching her in action definitely sealed the deal. Then she sent her rope back out and swung over to stand in front of him. She reached over and closed his mouth-- he hadn’t noticed it had dropped open-- and giggled. “Careful, Kitty. You’ll catch flies,” she teased. Her eyes dropped to his torso and frowned. “Oh, Chat. Your armour’s damaged.”

He followed her gaze and saw that the gash the man had opened up had widened during the fight all the way across his stomach. It would be a pain to get it fixed-- the manufacture and repair of Kevlar wasn’t a skill most weavers knew-- but Adrien wasn’t too fussed. He just had to find time when he returned to his duchy to get it repaired. “Don’t worry about it, Ladybug, I can fix it when I get back,” he said.

She looked up at him. “I can fix it now if you want,” she said.

“You can?”

She smiled. “Yeah, I’m the Bearer of Creation, remember? Although I haven’t quite learned how to do the actual ‘creation’ part of it, my magic can also restore what’s been broken,” she explained. “So what do you say, Chat?”

Chat Noir smirked and dipped into a cheesy bow. “I’m all yours, My Lady.”

She rolled her eyes and giggled. “Silly Kitty,” she murmured, stepping closer. She put her hand on his stomach and closed her eyes, brows creased in concentration. When she opened them, her eyes were glowing red. Red magic trickled from her palm and onto his armour, his torso growing warm under her magic.

Before he knew it, the warmth of her magic was gone and his armour had been completely repaired. Ladybug removed her hand and blinked as her eyes returned to normal, exhaling loudly as if she had just relieved herself of a weight on her back. Chat glanced down at his armour before looking up at her again in awe. “Thank you, Ladybug.”

She met his gaze and smiled back at him. After a moment, something in her eyes changed. A kind of quiet intrigue and curiosity. “Why do you look at me like that, Chat Noir?” she asked quietly, a hint of mirth in her voice.

Chat Noir smirked and took a step forward, a little surprised when she made no move to keep him at a distance. A little surprised at how willingly she let him into her personal space, and let him stand over her like this. “Because I can’t help it, My Lady,” he replied, his voice low and gravelly. “You are truly a sight to behold.”

He watched as her eyes went wide almost imperceptibly, and the skin just over her mask redden. She blinked up at him, studying his features with admiration and a little desire. It made Adrien feel invincible, and warm all over. Her eyes dropped to his lips, and his heart skipped a beat. She was leaning forward now, her face only millimetres away from his. “Tell me more,” she whispered.

Meanwhile, Adrien was having trouble maintaining his composure. He could feel sweat forming on his neck and he was sure his heart was beating irregularly. She was so close. He let his eyes drop to her mask and thought he might like to see what her lips looked like underneath. What her lips _felt_ like underneath. Before he knew it, he had reached out and grazed the cloth with his fingertips, his thumb brushing over the border between the cloth and her skin. Something shifted under her mask-- probably her mouth, because he heard her almost inaudible gasp-- and he hesitated, but she still did not pull away. Her skin was hot to touch.

Chat Noir wanted her. There was nothing he wanted more in that moment than _her_ . And he could tell that she knew it. But somehow amidst all of that, the realisation that he didn’t exactly know _what_ he was going to do about it surfaced in his mind. Adrien suddenly felt awkward. Should he say something else? What else was he going to say? Technically, she did tell him to keep talking, and he had remained silent instead. Did she find the silence as awkward as he did? Maybe he should say something, if only to break the awkwardness.

“I’m _paw-sitively_ sure that you’re the one for me, My Lady.”

Never before had Adrien wanted to kick himself so much in his life.

Ladybug immediately took a step back, and Chat missed her warmth immediately. She stared at him silently, her expression unreadable, and just when Chat had decided that he had officially ruined all his chances of ever speaking to her again, she burst out into laughter. He watched her laugh, confused, and then offended, and then relieved. “Chat, that was the dorkiest thing anyone’s ever said to me,” she said, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes.

He felt his ears flatten against his head in embarrassment, but he didn’t mind so much since it meant Ladybug didn’t hate him. “Does this mean you’re not going to kiss me anymore?”

She giggled again and stepped forward, tapping his nose with a smirk. “Not a chance, Kitty. What kind of a vigilante would I be if I gave away my secret identity to the first boy who flirts with me?” She turned towards the unconscious figure of the man they had been fighting and picked him up, pulling out her crossbow again. “Now come on. We have to disarm these guys and tie them up before they wake up. The villagers will deal with them tomorrow morning,” she said, sending out a grappling hook back in the direction of the little cottage she had been protecting.

Chat Noir sighed in defeat and pulled his baton out from behind his back. Just as she leapt off, she glanced behind at him, a little of the desire from earlier in her eyes. “It’s a shame. I was actually starting to think you were kind of cute before you said that abomination of a cat pun and pick up line,” she teased, reeling the rope and swinging through the air.

He stared after her for a moment before it processed in his mind that she thought he was cute. His happiness was short lived, however, as soon as he processed the fact that he had ruined his own chances of pursuing that road.

He sighed and followed after her, telling himself to be content with finally being able to meet her in person after years of seeing her only visions that Plagg would send him.

 

* * *

 

Once all the men had been disarmed, tied up and exposed, Ladybug walked up to the front door of the little cottage, knocking on the wood. She noticed that the candles were still shining behind the curtains in the windows. It must’ve been past midnight now. She hated to worry her people so much, and so late in the night when she knew they had an early start tomorrow.

A woman with a rosary in her hand answered the door. A small child hid behind her legs, looking up at her a little warily.

“Sorry it took so long, but your house is secure, Madame,” she said with a smile.

“Thank you, Ladybug. I knew you’d save us,” she replied. The child behind her pulled at her gown and whined a little, and the woman touched his head. “If you would be so kind, Ladybug, August would like to thank the young man who saved him. And… so do I.”

Ladybug nodded. “Of course, Madame.” She looked behind her and gestured to the man who was standing hesitantly some distance away, smiling warmly.

He emerged from the shadows and into the light. She watched him as he walked carefully towards them, his golden hair glowing softly under the moon, his warmly pale complexion. He wore black armour over his torso, made from what she assumed to be Kevlar material, and his shoulders were covered with black cloth that formed a hood behind him. His baton glinted silver, and was strapped to his back by a provision on his waist. His arms were bare except for black gauntlets on his forearms. But the most jarring of his appearance were the black cat ears on top of his head and the unnatural green sclera of his eyes, the skin around it painted over with black.

The woman stumbled back and gasped at the sight of him, and he hesitated, his gaze dropping to the floor. Ladybug turned her attention back to the woman, a little sad that he had been right. He had told her that he would have more difficulty being accepted by her people than she had. Black cats were harbingers of misfortune, after all, and were never beloved by the people.  “It’s okay, he’s not going to harm you,” she tried to reassure her.

“H-He’s a demon,” she muttered, clutching her rosary tighter. “I won’t have him-”

The child behind her raced out the door and towards him, launching at his legs. His mother shouted at her son to come back, but to no avail. Instead, she was left with no choice but to follow Ladybug towards the pair.

“You saved me, Monsieur!” the child exclaimed, arms wrapped tightly around his legs. “You’re a superhero!”

He chuckled nervously and tentatively picked the child up. Behind Ladybug, the woman gasped in horror, but Ladybug touched her arm reassuringly. “Not a superhero,” he replied to the child. “Just an ordinary man who wants to protect Paris. And who happens to have some cool magic powers.”

The child giggled as he turned towards the woman, looking a little bashful. He handed the child over to her. “With all due respect, Madame, I’m not a demon,” he said, his eyes returning to their normal human state. It was the first time she had seen him with his human eyes-- Marinette was sure she had seen those eyes somewhere before-- but she concealed her surprise.

The woman remained silent for a few moments before she sighed. “No, I suppose you’re not. You did save my boy, after all,” she said. “And if you’ve earned Ladybug’s trust, then I suppose that’s reason enough for us. What’s your name, son?”

His eyes went green again and he stood tall. “I am Chat Noir. Harbinger of Misfortune. Bearer of Destruction. Defender of Paris, and-” He faltered and glanced at Ladybug. “The Ladybug’s Protector.”

Ladybug couldn’t hide the surprise on her face this time-- sure, she had heard about her partner before, but Tikki had never told her he was supposed to be her protector. She quickly recovered, deciding to talk to him about it later, and stood next to him. “Chat Noir is my partner, Madame. And from now on, we will be keeping you safe together.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'd imagine that Adrien would've learnt to step up his game by the time he got to 20, but still fumble and crack under pressure when he gets further than he expected ;)
> 
> COME TALK TO ME ON  TUMBLR 


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